A Letter From Camp
The Legend of the Water Melon Baby
Once upon a time when I was a camper at Camp Hugh Beaver I stood by the lake to watch the sunset. On the mountain across the lake there was a small alpen meadow, covered with grass. In the meadow were white painted stones that formed the letters YMCA. Of course sometimes it would say Billy Loves Susie or some such thing. As the sun set the mist would roll down the mountain. It was lovely!
Camp Hugh Beaver was a new camp to the area. There used to be another camp on the other side of the mountain, Camp Denton. There was family with a child, a hydro-cephallic, a water head. He was quite large for his age but he wasn't all there. He had a favorite toy, a bowling ball. His Father had plugged the finger holes and it was the boy's joy to throw the ball up in the air and catch it. Throw it in the air and catch it. His parents decided to send the boy to camp, just like the more normal kids. While the other kids were playing ball, making lanyards, swimming or studying Indian Lore the Water Melon Baby, that's what the kids nicknamed him; would just throw his ball up in the air and catch it. Throw it in the air and catch it.
Wednesday night was camp-fire night and as the kids were sitting around the fire singing songs, listening to stories and watching the fire, the Water Melon Baby would throw his ball up in the air and catch it. Throw it up in the and catch it. There was one kid there named Billy. He was a wise guy and a bit of a trouble maker. He had spent the day keeping quiet as one of the trials of becoming a third class Indian Brave. A tough ordeal as I well know! Well Billy started dancing around the fire like and Indian and then came up behind the Water Melon Baby. The kid threw his ball up in the air but didn't catch it! Billy had grabbed it and after dancing aroud the fire a couple more times threw the ball into the fire!
The Water Melon Baby just watched his ball turn red in the fire and then he went to the fire a grabbed it. Aiiiee! He screamed as the ball burned his hands and then he ran off into the woods. The police. Firemen, hunters and rangers with dogs looked for the child for a better part of a week but they didn't find him. The camp was in an uproar. Kids who never wrote home, wrote home that week! After a while things settled down, until the next campfire. Billy was at the campfire holding court when the Water Melon Baby appeared out of the woods. He came up behind Billy and grabbing him by both ears he ripped his head off and tossed it in the fire! Then he ran off into the woods again. The locals were called out again and they searched for the Water Melon Baby; but they never found him. The scandal forced the camp to close down. The Easton YMCA later bought the land and built a camp on the other side of the mountain. When I was a camper I loved to watch the mist roll down the mountain at sunset and one night I saw a bear up in that alpen meadow. It picked up one of those white stones, Threw it up in theair and caught it. Threw up in the air and caught it!